DONETSK, January 26. /TASS/. F-16 fighter jets, if supplied by the Netherlands to Kiev, will not reach the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), but will be downed before approaching the so-called grey zone and thoroughly studied, a source in the DPR law enforcement agencies told TASS on Thursday.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said on Wednesday that unnamed ‘European colleagues’ were working on the issue of delivering US-made F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The issue of deliveries was earlier raised during debates in the parliament of the Netherlands. Later, the country’s prime minister Mark Rutte said that this issue was out of question at the moment, but added that nothing is ruled out.
"Let them supply [F-16 jets], it will be a good example for dumpling during supplies of high-technology goods. And the F-16 is still an interesting fighter jet from the point of view of its equipment. The air defense system operates perfectly. It will not be able to reach us. We will down it before the ‘grey zone’ and it will most likely hit the ground somewhere in the neutral zone. We will cordon off the crash site and will scrutinize what is interesting for us. At least, its is worth studying the avionics," the source said, adding that it may be an impetus to liberate ‘grey zone’ areas.
"If need be, a corresponding section of the ‘ger zone’ may be mopped up and become our territory. So, it is a good extra stimulus for the sake of such a possibility," he said.